Temperature-controlling apparatus for internal-combustion engines.



P. M. FURB'ER. TEMPERATURE CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE APPLICATION FILED MAR-31,1914.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

MT/VES 555.

a ajjygma UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK M. FURBER, or REVERE, nmssncnusnrrs,

TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLING AlPPARA'L'US FOR INTERNAL- COMBUSTION ENGINES.

"characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

The water cooling system .of an internal combustion engine for an automobile is usually designed to'radiate heat from. the engine with sufficient rapidity to maintain the engine at an Lefficiently operative temperature in warm weather. Consequently, when an automobile is operated in cold Weather it is found that the cooling system carries the heat away from the engine so rapidly that' its temperature is reduced below the point at which it can operate at its highest efficiency. In severe weather the reduction in temperature produced in this manner is suflicient to make a very noticeable change in the operation of the engine and often is suflicient even to 'cause the water in the lower part of the radiator to freeze while the engine is running. In order to overcome this difficulty some kind of a covering for part of the radiator is often used in cool weather; but

this expedient is unsatisfactoryfor 'the reason that the amount of radiator surface required to be covered varies so much with ;1. "An illustrative e bodiment tion will now be descnbed,'reference being Tuition? is mng dinalsectional yiew which, 4

' the temperature of the air and with operating conditions that it is impracticable for an operator to control the temperature of his engine properly in this manner.

-' The present invention has for its primary object to devise meansfor controlling automatically the rate of radiation of heat by the water coolin system in such a manner asito maintain t e engine at substantialy eiently operative temperature.

of the invenmade' to the accompanying drawings, in

Figure 1 is a perspective of an apparatus .jconstructedin accordance with the inven of a thermostati mechanism employed in theapparatus'shown in I; Fig-3 is a Specification of Letters Patent.

' controlled by a thermostat which, in controlled by'thetemperature of the engine-e This .thermostaqpreferably" is located in the of the engine. ,In the construction shown. thecooling system in passage that con Patented Oct. 20, 1914..

Applicationflled March 31, 1914. Serial No. 828,583.

cross sectional view showing certain details of construction to which reference will later be made; and Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 3. Referring to bustion eng ne of a type commonly. used in automobiles; 4:, the radiator for the engine; and 6 and 8 the pipes that conduct the circulating water or other cooling 'fluid (hereinafter, for convenience referred to as water) to and from the radiator. In the arrangement shown the water flows from the and returns to the engine through the pipe 8 after it has been cooled. This arrangement is known as the thermo siphon system although 'theinvention is equally applicable to systems in which the circulation of water is produced by other methods.

vention may constitute a permanent part of the equipment of the engine, or it may be constructed as an attachment, the latter arrangement being shown in the drawings. In this construction a casing 10 is secured to the front of the radiator 4, covering the greater part of the grating or that portion of the radiator through which the air circulates. This casing houses a series of vertical shutters 12, and each shutterhas two pivots, one at each end, these pivots being loosely mounted in upper and lower supporting bars 14 and-16, respectively. supports these bars far enough from the front of the radiator so that the shutters may swing from a position inwhich they are substantially parallel with each other and slightly overlap, asishown in full lines in Figs 1 and 3, to a' position at substantially right angles indicated in dotted lines .in Fig. 3. ,Each shutter has a lug l8 projecting therefrom near its lower edge, and these lugs, are all pivotally connected to a. horizontahbar or link 20 which compels the shuttersto open and close together. these shutters obstruct the through the radiator more on upon their angular 'lar position: or adjustment {water cooling system eludes a bi'anchbr shunt engine to the radiator throughthepipe 6 The mechanism embodying the present in- The casing to that just described, as

the drawings, 2 indicates an internal com- It will be evident that flow I of air less depending Y position, and this alignof the shutters is turn, is I tains the thermostat. This shunt passage comprises a casing 22 located in a convenient horizontal position beside the engine and closed at one end,by a cap 24 and at its opposite end-by a casting 26 having an intake nipple28' and an outlet nipple 30. Water is conducted to the intake 28 by means of a pipe 32, which leads from the pipe 6, and

the water is led out of the outlet passage 30 by means of a short pipe 34 that opens into the return pipe 8. Within the casing 22 ismounted a tube 36 of much smaller diameter than the casing, and this tube has one end threaded into a suitable socket in the cast-. ing 26 (see Fig. 2) while its opposite endis open so that it communicates with-the interior of the casing 22. Consequently, water flowing into the intake 28 of the casing will i be obliged to pass through the entire length of the casing and then flow through the tube 36in order to reach the outlet 30.

The thermostat, which may be of any suitable construction, is mounted inside the tube 36 and, in the form shown, comprisesa small tube or stem 38 which -is secured to the casting 26 at one end and at its opposite end is provided with a large bulb 40. This bulb is supported in the cap 24 by a nipple '42 that projects from the bulb and enters a corresponding socket formed in the cap.- Several spacing blocks, one of which is shown at 44, are inserted between the-bulb 40 and the tube 36 to support the tube concentrically on the bulb. The bulb 40. is filled with mercury, or equivalent material.-

The thermostat also includes a rod 46 which is-slidingly mounted in the stem 38 with its inner end in contact with the mercury, and

mercury. The thermostat may conveniently be made of steel,-and the parts through having one end pivoted to the clamp andthe other end pivoted to a lug 58 that prowhich the water -circulates, of brass. The

rod 46 is connected to the shutter 12 by means of-a clamp 5 4' having a split portionthat adjustably grlps the rod, and .a link 56 jects from'the back of the endmost shutter 12. The casing 22 is provided with a stuffing box to receive a small thermometer 6O which serves to indicatethe temperature of the water inside the casing. I It will now be evident that, when the engine is running the hot water from the upper part of the jacket will flowfito the radiator 4 through the pipe 6, will'be cooled in the radi'ator and will return to the jacket through the pipe. 8. Part ofthiswater, however, will flow from'the pipe 6 through the pipe 32 positions, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This,

of course, cuts down very materially the flow of air through the radiator and thus decreases very greatly the rate of radiation of heat from the water circulating through the radiator. As the temperature of the engine, and consequently the temperature of the circulating water, rises, the mercury in the bulb 40 will expand, thus forcing the rod 46 outwardly in the stem38 against the pressure of the spring 48 and causing it to open the shutters 12 more or less, depending upon the rise in temperature. When the engine'beco'mes very warm, the rod 46 will be moved out far enough to turn the shutters 12 into their wide open positions, in

which they-are shown in dotted lines in Fig.

3, thus permitting a very free circulation of air through the radiator and increasing the rate of radiation to the maximum capacity of the radiator. The thermostat con- 'sequently tends to adjust the shutters 12 automatically in such a .manner that the temperature of the engine will be allowed to fluctuate only between certain narrow predetermined limits. The adjustability of the clamp 54 onthe rod 46 enables the op erator to-set the apparatus in the manner that he finds most satisfactory for his own engine.

In installing the apparatus .and making the original adjustment,-' the clamp 54 should be loosened so that it willslide freely on the rod '46, and the engine then should be operated with the shutters 12 closed until the temperature of the water has been raised to the point at which the engine is known to operate most efliciently, this temperature being observedon the thermometer 60, or by such other means as the operator may have at hand. The clamp 40 should then be secured to the rod with the links56 drawn back into the position in which it holds the shutters 12 closed. Any rise in temperature above this point thus will cause. the

shutters to be opened. It will be evident from Fig. .3 that the connection of the link 56 with the endmost shutter 12 has such a relationship to the .pivot of the shutter that a very small movement of; the rod will produce a correspondingly greater angular movement of the shutters when the shutters are closed, as shown in full lines in Fig. .3, than when they are partly open. This arcrating rangement is of advantage since it produces a relatively large opening movement of the shutters upon a very small rise in temperature' above the normal temperature and thus tends quickly to restore the normal tempera- The casing 10 usually need not cover the entire grating of the radiator but preferably should be placed so as to cover the 'lower part of the radiator since this part contains the cooler water and, therefore, is more likely to freeze. I

The apparatus may be detached from the engine whenever desired by removing the bolts that hold the casing 10 on the radiator and disconnecting the pipes 32 and 34 from the engine. The pipe 32 and nipple 30 may be joined to the pipes 6 and 8, respectively, by rubber connectors, if desired, so as to allow for vibration and at the same time facilitate the connection or disconnection of the parts. The casing 22 is detachably mounted on the chassis so that it also may be removed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an automobile, the combination with an internal combustion engine and a water cooling system'therefor including a radiator, of means controlled by the temperature of 'the cooling water for regulating the flow of air through the radiator.

2. In an automobile, the combination with an internal combustion engine and a water cooling system therefor including a radiator, of means adjustable to obstruct more or less the flow of air through the radiator and mechanism for adjusting said means automatically in accordance with the temperature of the water in said system.

3. In an automobile, the combination with ,an internal combustion engine and a water cooling system therefor including a radiator, of means for controlling the how, of air through the radiator and-mechanism for ,op-I v said meansiauto atica1-1y -inaccord ance -.w1th-- changes inth temperature of the 'ndingto maintain Li -the temperature. of the1, ngine between cer t i -Pred r-niin eng ne and: a ma two hing-witnesses.

means automatically to increase the flow of. 1 air through the radiator as the temperature of the engine rises above a predeterminedff point and to decrease the flow of air through I v the radiator as the engine temperature falls below said point. f

5. In an automobile, the combination with' an internal combustion engine and a water cooling system therefor including a radiator, of means adjustable to obstruct more or less I the flow of air through said radiator and a thermostat in said system and connectedv with said means to adjust it in a manner to" I cause the flow of air through the radiator.v to be reduced or increased as the temperature of the cooling water rises above or falls be: low a predetermined point. f 6. In an automobile, the combination with a an internal combustion engine and a water cooling system therefor including a radiator,-'; of a series of adjustable shutters arranged toobstruct more or less the flow of air through the radiator depending upon their "adjust-1 ment, and a thermostat in said cooling' -sys-Q tem connected with said shutters to adjust;

them in accordance with changes in theitem- 'fifi 7 In an automobile, the combination with an internal combustion engine and a water, cooling system therefor including a radiator; v of means adjustable to obstruct more or less; the flow of air through the radiator, athermostat in said system, and connections-be tween said thermostat and said means-a I v ranged to efiect a relatively quick adjustment 5 of said means to increase greatly the circ" 9.5"'j lation of air through the radiator upon comparatively small rise. in the temperatur of the water above normal and thereafter'to efiect a slower adjustment of said means. I I-Y,

8. In an automobile, the combination wit an internal combustion engine and a. wate cooling system therefor including a. radiato'i,v of ad ustable means detachably securedtof'i the, radiaton for a bstru'cti; gin re .or- 'les's' the a 'fio-w of air through the; radiator; depending; upon-its adjustmenu'gaflth bstatidetachablym .5 nounted -in-saidsystem, ns a h m st t"w h-said 'm e able the -'t herniostatf to adjust "said j accordance witli i the temperatu perature of'the water in said system.-" i 

